Now Fujitsu staff vote to strike over four per cent pay offer as firm battles Horizon computer scandal - saying Japanese counterparts have been offered 10 times more
Some 300 members working mainly for HMRC will walk out over a pay disputeStaff working in 'crucial' IT roles fixing HMRC computers will also be strikingUnion says round of strikes have nothing to do with Post Office Horizon scandal
Fujitsu has been hit with new woe after staff in the West Midlands voted to strike over a four per cent pay offer – after Japanese counterparts were offered almost ten times more.
About 300 members of the Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) working mainly for HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) in Stratford-on-Avon and Telford will walk out next Wednesday.
It comes after workers at the tech company were offered a pay rise of between 3 per cent and 4 per cent compared to their Japanese counterparts who saw their pay packet swell last April by between 10 per cent and 29 per cent.
Some members working in ‘crucial’ IT roles fixing HMRC computers and protecting the government department’s computers will also be taking industrial action from January 18 to February 15.
The union said the round of strikes have nothing to do with the Post Office Horizon scandal which has come into renewed focus thanks to the ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office.
About 300 members of the Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) working mainly for HM Revenue & Customs ( HMRC ) in Stratford-on-Avon and Telford will walk out over pay
The union said the round of strikes had nothing to do with the Post Office Horizon scandal which has come into renewed focus thanks to the ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office.
A file image of the post office Fujitsu Horizon IT system from the year 2000
The PCS said the industrial action is likely to disrupt those seeking to complete their self-assessment tax returns by the end of the month.
PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said: ‘Why is the UK Government giving Fujitsu lucrative contracts when the company treats its UK workers so badly?
‘Why is it workers in Japan are deemed worthy of a pay rise almost 10 times more than those in the UK?
‘Our Government should be standing up for our members, demanding a fair pay rise in line with Japanese workers.’
Speaking to LBC, Fran Heathcote said: ‘Let’s be clear this isn’t a company that can’t afford to pay its workers properly. They have made £22 million profit in revenues of £1.3 billion in the last year in the UK.’
A Fujitsu spokesman said: ‘Fujitsu is aware of the planned action by PCS. This follows a number of pay discussions and offers made to the PCS members.
‘We remain committed to continue pay talks to try to resolve this situation and welcome further discussions at any time.
‘Fujitsu will be taking all necessary steps to ensure operational continuity for all our customers and are working closely with those customers throughout the planning process.’
An HMRC spokesperson said: ‘We have robust plans in place to ensure we continue delivering critical services for our customers during any industrial action.’
In October 2022, Fujitsu was awarded a contract worth up to £5million to work on the UK’s new emergency alert system
The Government is facing calls to halt Fujitsu – the IT company at the centre of the Post Office scandal – from winning any new Whitehall contracts
Toby Jones as Alan Bates in the new series Mr Bates vs the Post Office
Mr Bates Vs the Post Office has sparked huge public fury about the Horizon Post Office scandal
It comes after MPs called for Fujitsu to be blocked from winning anymore Whitehall contracts.
This has also seen a fresh focus on how Fujitsu, despite their role in the scandal, has won nearly 200 public contracts with a value of about £6.7billion over the past decade.
Fujitsu created the faulty accounting software called Horizon that made it appear as though money was missing from Post Office branches.
More than 700 branch managers were handed criminal convictions in what has been described as the most widespread miscarriage of justice in British history.
A public inquiry into the scandal is ongoing and anger at the treatment of subpostmasters has grown after the four-part ITV drama returned the issue to the spotlight.
According to data compiled by, the Government procurement analysts, Fujitsu’s deals include providing IT services to schools in Northern Ireland (worth £485million) and infrastructure used by HMRC.
Senior Conservative MP David Davis suggested Fujitsu should be frozen out of future Government contracts in the wake of the Post Office scandal.
‘I think it slightly depends on how they respond to the question I’ve just given – how many of these people did you actually meddle in their computers?,’ the ex-Cabinet minister told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
Pressed on whether contracts should be put on hold, he added: ‘I would certainly suspend any possibility of new contracts until that is over.
‘What I do not want to see is one injustice followed by another. So we have got to stick with some process in this and make sure we are actually checking the facts and doing what we should do.’